LockIn
by Hopeful Writer
Summary: It's about three kids, the dreamer, the rebel, and the popular boy and how a catastrophe brings them together and makes them friends.


Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I'm a sleep-deprived teenage, angsty, hormonal girl and I need something to do with myself between school and beating up my younger brother (just kidding, DG!).

A/N - *reads disclaimer* School starts tomorrow, does that explain that emotional outburst? Anyway, I wanted a fic done before I begin hell... er, _classes_ again. I thought fast and produced a short story from the recesses of my tiny, severely damaged mind. And school wound up starting before I finished. It's about three kids: the rebel, the dreamer, and the popular kid, and how a catastrophe brings them together and makes them friends.

Shout outs to Dreamer4, Dark Gamer, Light Gamer, EeyoreP, SaturnsChild, Knight, EvilTenchi, Galassos Gal 124, PhoniexChild, TogetherAgain, Arylwren, ArchangelUK, Digicowboy, Blackout12, Phire Phoenix, Authormon, Insane Friend 02, alfogamer2, Takari's Baybee, Immia, AlexPG13, DJ Clue, and shadow2k. Dedication to Wolfie because I can.

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Lock-In

By: Hopeful Writer

Clad in black, Davis Motomiya strode down the halls of the school, pausing once to bare his teeth at small freshman boy and once to smile flirtatiously at a charming sophomore girl, both of whom were leaving the school. He stopped at the doorway of room 106 and entered the wide world of mathematics. A difficult class, not because Davis hated math, but because he had to disguise his remarkable talent into the insolence of the other seniors. Hiding behind failing grades and witty jokes, Davis cloaked his love of numbers. Why? Because he was a punk who purposely failed school. Which is why he was in after-school extra-help.

For Kari Kamiya it was different. She loathed math, detested it with all the willpower she had in her. Numbers left no room for thought, for interpretation, for everything that she liked. Wearing the bright pink and yellow commonly seen on her, she shuffled to room 106 when the final bell rang just as Davis had. She shuddered. Math. What a wretched subject.

TK Takaishi was the final member of this study group. The most popular boy in school by far, he couldn't grasp the concept of calculus and needed a good grade so he could play basketball. As he made his way to the classroom, he received many greetings from the other students that still remained in the hallways.

It was snowing outside, as it often does during the month of January. Kari ached to go to it, to make snow angels in the ground with her older brother and her best friends. She turned to the chalkboard and glowered. Instead she was stuck in a musty, old classroom, studying a subject she hated, with two boys who would never even give her the time of day.

The study session moved sluggishly, and the snow fell harder. By the time it had ended, only white could be seen from the first story windows of the school. The teacher left to call for help, but the line was disconnected. The door was frozen shut. The heater had broken.

TK was first to speak, taking instant leadership among the three. "We should see if there is anything to keep us warm. Blankets, jackets, something."

"I have a couple jackets in my locker," Davis remarked as coolly as he could.

TK nodded. "Go get them."

"Who died and put you in charge?" Davis shot back, glaring at the taller boy with a look of disdain.

Kari wormed her way in between them. "This isn't the time to be fighting. We need to work together if we're going to be okay." The boys sighed in agreement.

Davis left and returned a moment later holding two jackets. He tossed one to TK and handed Kari the second. "What about you?" she demanded, pulling the coat on and marveling at its warmth.

"I'm fine," he said in a short, clipped voice. He bit back the insults he wanted to throw at TK and added, "We should probably get some food too. The snack machines are turned off, but I think if we work together we can break one."

TK looked astonished. "We'll get in so much trouble."

Davis again controlled his tongue and said, "We'll be in worse trouble if we don't eat anything. I'm hungry. I don't know about you two."

"I'm hungry," Kari admitted. TK remained silent.

Davis sighed. This was turning out to be a miserable afternoon. "Give me a hand?" he asked Kari. She hesitated, glanced at TK, then nodded and followed the brunette.

Within minutes the pair had shattered the glass of the snack machine and were eagerly munching on some of the food. Davis was getting cold, though he neglected to tell anyone. Finally TK came over and joined them. "Can I have some?" he inquired pitifully.

Davis opened his mouth, but Kari was faster. "Sure. Help yourself." She shot a glare at Davis, who frowned back. TK looked grateful and sat down next to them.

When their stomachs were satisfied, they wandered the frigid halls of the school in vain. Davis was rapidly frosting and he tried to hide his shivers. Kari finally noticed and shoved her warm coat in his direction. "Put it on," she ordered. "Getting frostbite isn't going to prove that you're tough, just stubborn." Davis obliged, but quickly noticed that Kari was freezing too.

"Take it back," he told her, but she shook her head.

"N—no way," she chattered.

Davis gave a low growl and slung the jacket around her shoulders. "Getting frostbite isn't going to prove that you're tough, just stubborn," he mocked. TK let out curt laugh and Davis thought, for the first time, that they might get along.

Kari, meanwhile, glowered at the punk. Finally Davis took one end of the jacket, pulled it over his arm, shoved the other side around Kari, and pulled her close. "There," he muttered, his breath coming out in puffs of fog.

Kari looked surprised, but it was weak compared to the shock written on TK's face. "I have to go to the bathroom," the blonde told them abruptly. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Hope your piss doesn't freeze," Davis joked. Kari hid her smile. TK scurried off.

Davis's arm was wrapped around Kari tightly. "You okay?" she asked, studying the look on his face. He looked nauseous, constipated, and scared, all at the same time.

His brown eyes were wide and innocent. For a moment he looked very vulnerable. There was one undetectable emotion in his eyes that Kari failed to place. Davis threw the mask back up and grinned hastily. "Yeah, sure," he answered. "Just hoping we'll get out by tonight. If we go to sleep, we'll die of hypothermia for sure."

Kari looked upset now and Davis felt bad. He'd never felt bad about making someone upset before. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I bet we'll be out by tonight. No problem." Kari caught the doubt in his voice, but was touched instead of upset. He was protecting her. 

"You're right," she said, standing up straighter. "The phone's are probably up already and the teachers are calling for help. Or maybe a pizza." She laughed.

Davis grinned. He noticed an open locker. "Andy McCormick left his locker open," he pointed out. He pulled out of the jacket and started to go through the contents.

"Davis! Those aren't yours!" Kari tried to scold him, but Davis had stopped. Suddenly she was concerned. "What's wrong?"

Davis turned to her slowly. "He left a cell phone in his locker." Kari turned white, then red, then flesh-toned again and she cheered. Davis grinned and suddenly they were hugging. As they pulled back, Davis kept her in his arms and his smile broadened. Kari smiled shyly back. And then they were kissing. It wasn't Davis's first kiss, far from it, but he felt an innocent sense of passion shoot through his veins. He became light-headed and dizzy and then broke away so he wouldn't pass out.

TK cleared his throat from behind Kari, and the other two looked at him guiltily. He shot a questioning look between them, then said, "So you found a cell phone? Let's call for help."

TK dialed 9-1-1 and told them of the situation. Meanwhile, Davis and Kari talked quietly nearby, huddled in the warmth of one jacket. "What did that mean, Davis?" Kari demanded, giving the shivering boy a once-over.

Davis shrugged. "We got caught up in the moment," he commented lightly. "It didn't mean anything. Don't you agree?" He stared at her.

Kari turned first to hide the welling of tears in her eyes. "Yeah, of course," she whispered, not a bit of sincerity in her voice.

Davis was surprised. He'd thought she wouldn't have wanted it to be real, kissing a punk like him. "Wait a minute," he ordered, turning her frigid face to look at him. She gasped at the coldness of his hands, and he withdrew quickly. "I mean, did you, you know, _want_ it to mean something?" He growled softly at his stammering. He didn't stammer. He was Davis Motomiya for God's sake.

Kari flushed. Was she that transparent? "Well, I mean, only if _you_ wanted it to," she replied, not looking at the boy.

Davis was at a loss for words. He blinked. He sidled closer to Kari. "Maybe... maybe it wasn't an accident?" he offered quietly, wrapping an arm around her.

She glanced at him, unable to mask her astonishment. Davis smiled, just a small smile, almost unable to be seen. But Kari saw it. She leaned closer to him and he kissed her, this time with more force and less abruptness. His eyes closed and he wrapped his arms around her tightly, hugging her close against the cold. His tongue ventured into her mouth and she blushed despite herself.

TK cleared his throat. Davis jerked away so fast he wound up on his back on the cold ground. He glared at the blonde, who looked rather amused. "The police are coming. They're going to get us out of here," TK reported, holding out a hand to Davis. Davis eyed it suspiciously. TK sighed. "It's to help you up," he explained.

Davis took his hand and grinned. "Thanks."

"So does this mean we're all friends?" Kari asked, hugging the warm jacket around her. Davis pulled her to her feet and cuddled in the coat too.

TK laughed. "Some of us are more than friends," he teased. He turned serious. "But how can we survive something like this and not be friends?"

Then the police came. Moments later, a few plows and fire trucks had made it through the snow and the officers were loading the kids into the heated cars. All three were unscathed, although very cold and in the wee stages of hypothermia. Had they not found that cell phone, they'd have been dead by morning.

In the back of an ambulance, the three looked at each other and laughed. Not exactly the laughter from something funny, more from relief that they had made it out alive. Four days later they were back in school, this time as friends and no longer on opposite ends of the spectrum. And they all began to pass math.

A/N - Christ! I can't write a freakin' ending! Well, besides that, tell me what you think. Surprise Daikari in it, the reason for the dedication to Wolfie. Haha. Please review, flame away, I don't care. I answer all questions so leave an email address. §--HW--§ (http://www.geocities.com/msbjewel and http://www.geocities.com/phoniexchild) 


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